An important and fascinating post by guest bloggers Shawn Lawrence and Rebecca Otto, at Quiche Moraine.
Click here to be educated and entertained.
- Log in to post comments
More like this
I am reluctant to use the term "power couple" in reference to a pair of Minnesota leaders in the area of science and politics, but considering the contributions of Rebecca and Shawn Lawrence Otto, the term moves past cliché and into double entendre. Rebecca is the Minnesota State Auditor, an…
The amazing Betty Folliard, former school board member, Minnesota house representative, and the woman behind a number of important political campaign, has a radio show on AM950 The Progressive Voice of Minnesota (where I occassionally voice as well, but on a different show) called "A Woman's Place…
Science Debate founder Shawn Lawrence Otto, author of Fool Me Twice: Fighting the Assault on Science in America, David Gergen, and Michael Lubell spoke on Talk of the Nation Science Friday with Ira Flatow. The focus was on climate change.
In the face of a massive drought and climbing sea levels,…
The term “War on Science” comes from multiple sources, one being Chris Mooney’s book “The Republican War on Science” (see below) and another, the made up “War on Christmas,” a term attributed to Bill O’Really. Throw in a little “Culture War” rhetoric and I think we have a good basis for the origin…
If I could crop our power bill by 50% with $2000 worth of insulation, it would pay for itself in a little over a year.
We're already on efficient computers, lights, a/c cycles off when no one is home, etc. Power is pricy down here, and cooling the house is one of the biggest costs we have.
I'd also like to switch to one of the heat-on-demand water heaters, apparently those are much more efficient than the big tank that is also taking up precious garage space.
Had an idea the other day too, haven't done the math yet but I will. Once summer kicks in, it's roasting hot all day long and then pours rain about 5pm almost every evening. Collect up rain water and pump it through a couple sprayers on the roof during the hotter part of the day- take advantage of a little phase change cooling and keep the attic temp down.
I'd also like to switch to one of the heat-on-demand water heaters, apparently those are much more efficient than the big tank that is also taking up precious garage space.
We are thinking of doing this too. The suppliers may be ripping us off. In many parts of the world these devices are inexpensive and standard, here they are something lie 300% the cost of a regular water heater, because the evil corporations see the market as .... well, not really including me. Probably you too.
The on demand heaters are nice. The problem is that they are really not usable if you don't have access to gas. The energy demands for a tankless heater exceeds the ability of most residential electric service (200A max). Also if you have long pipe runs between the heater location and the point of use you may require more than one as the tankless heaters generally supply lower temperatures than tank heaters. Another consideration is the number simultaneous users.
Very likely they are, seems to me it's mostly a bunch of nichrome wire and insulation, plus some monitoring/electronics that could be handled by cheap microcontrollers. Really there should be a standard small version under every sink so you aren't heating 50 feet of copper tubing in an effort to warm up a hand washing.
Eric: Thanks, that's useful. We would probably fit the profile. We have gas, and the distance from the heater to the appliances is very small.
I'm pretty familiar with these from South Africa where they are called Geysers (like at Yellowstone). Which, of course, is pronounced "Geezer" ...
So the first time my BFF Lynne told me about the geezer in the shower building at the camp site, I was confused.